Differences of Vehicles
by Discord
Summary: My first Magician fic. Mleh! Cosmo gets involved with a cult.


Difference of Vehicles

My first 'Magician' fanfic!I appear to be engrossed in the obscure cartoons, as of late.Hope this isn't too bad.

All characters and ideas belong to their respective owners.Wish that I had 'em; then I'd be able to, at least, tape them.

Written under the influence of Italian dressing, Final Fantasy music, and a Discovery Channel program about cults.Do review; even one!It'll make me all happy and stoned-like.Without further ado…

Differences of Vehicles 

"They drank… cyanide?"Cosmo gaped at his mentor.

Ace nodded, downing the rest of his coffee.He swallowed, and continued with their conversation."It was a cult called Heavens Gate.Evidently, the leader kept offering complete peace of mind and financial stability, to name a few.Eventually, he bought a ranch in some remote part of the country and invited the entire cult.He fed them all cyanide, and those who didn't drink it, were force-fed.They injected the kids and babies with pure cyanide."

"They put cyanide in Kool-Aid?"Cosmo couldn't seem to get his mind around the atrocity, staring at the glass of frosty, neon-red liquid in front of him.

Ace nodded again, grinning."Now when I say something's bad for you, maybe you'll believe me."

Cosmo gave him a wry look, punctuated in the background by the doorbell.Ace rocked back on two legs of his chair and slapped a hand to his forehead."Not the press, again…"He peeked over his fingers at Cosmo."I hate to ask favors, but could you…"He let it hang.

Cosmo smirked."Yeah, I'll tell 'em that Ace is experimenting with Kool-Aid and cyanide."He avoided a friendly slap, making his way to the door.It slid open, and Cosmo, who was prepared for the wolfdogs who called themselves reporters, was completely disarmed.

A pair of friendly looking (and bald) men looked up at him.The one on the left had a pockmark on his cheek, most likely from a bad case of the chicken pox.He turned to the one on the right, whose large eyes made him seem like a deer."Ah, an answer!"He turned back to Cosmo.

Cosmo was quite taken aback, but did his best to force a polite grin that was nothing more then a tightening of the muscles in the corners of his mouth."Uh, can I help you guys?"

Pock-Mark turned to his partner again, a delighted smile lighting up his face."It's absolutely marvelous to find a youth so uncorrupted by society today!"

Deer-Eyes nodded vehemently."Oh yes, so refreshing."

"Marvelous and refreshing."

"Of course."

"Uhm, excuse me."Cosmo almost hated to interrupt the two; it was like watching a comedy routine.He was now wearing an almost true, but befuddled, smile."I'm not sure what…" He shrugged helplessly.

"Of course."Pock-Mark turned to Deer-Eyes for a moment."So dear, this boy!"

"So dear, yes."

"Well."Pock-Mark reached into a bag he was holding, withdrawing what looked like a brochure."I am here, my boy, to advertise enlightenment and freedom of body and mind."He beamed.

Cosmo's smile dimmed."Uh, I'm not an addict or anything," he remarked quickly.

The two bald men laughed out loud, with various exclamations of "So innocent!" and "Remarkable!"

Oddly, even though Cosmo would normally have been annoyed at his 'innocence', he felt amused and somewhat peaceful with the two peculiarities at his door.

Pock-Mark got over his hilarity, still beaming."Ohhh, no, no, no, my _dear_ boy, oh no."He wiped his eyes."No, we do offer healing to those in dire need, but we also offer the simple joy of knowing yourself, _truly_, through and through."

Cosmo was intrigued."Does it cost anything?"

The two grimaced slightly."We would love to offer the world peace of mind, freely, but unfortunately, there are monthly dues that are to be paid.Very small, of course," he added hastily, "and of course, to those whose souls are in dire peril, we charge nothing."He stopped speaking, and his eyes flicked over Cosmo's shoulder.

Ace had appeared behind the teenager.He surveyed the two men for a moment, then laid his hand on Cosmo's shoulder in a quiet gesture of protection."Yes?"He inquired softly.

Pock-Mark and Deer-Eye were suddenly all business."Yes, hello Mr. Cooper.We're here to advertise for our self-enlightenment group, the Ocean's Crest, to this charming young man."He flashed a smile to Cosmo, and handed him a pamphlet.Cosmo accepted it automatically, returning the smile, oblivious to the fact that the man had turned to him, completely tuning Ace out, speaking only to the teen."We're having a greeting party down at the rental fire hall tomorrow, around five.Perhaps we'll see you there?"

Ace interjected, his 'mother hen' instincts surging. "Perhaps you will."

Pock-Mark sent a rather sour look to Ace, but only for a moment.He backed away, waving to Cosmo, then the two turned around and departed.

Ace looked down at Cosmo, who was rifling through the packet.The older man looked vaguely amused."So who're they?"

An indistinct "dunno" was all he got from the engrossed Cosmo, and the magician chuckled, clapping his hand back down on his charge's shoulder.Right before the door closed, though, he cast a look at the two men.They were strolling down the road, one with their arm draped around the other's shoulders, chatting amiably.

The Kool-Aid, still inside the Magic Express, dripped onto the table, the water slowly sinking into the wood.


End file.
